B' 



SPEECH 



HON. WM. BARKSDALE, 



OF MISSISSIPPI, 



PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. 






/• 



DBLITERED IN THE 



r 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, JULY 23, 1856. 



WASHINGTOK: 
1856. 



.08 


Know 


, lEaites 


Know 




90 

84 



.13 <^^ 



SPEECH. 



To the Committee of the Whole on the state of the TTnion, I pro- 
pose to speak of the approaching Presidential election, on which I 
believe, more than on any former election, depends the fate of the 
Union, the hopes of our country, and Mr. Chairman, the hopes 
of constitutional liberty, as involved in the success of this our 
experiment in representative government. In past Presidential 
contests, parties have been divided upon questions, not affecting 
alike the interests of every section of the Union, it is true, but 
national in their character, and all felt that the triumph of the one 
did not necessarily involve the degradation or dishonor of the other. 
Now, however, an issue plainly local and sectional in its character hag 
been boldly and defiantly forced upon the country. The coming con- 
flict, then, sir, will be for the Constitution, for State-rights, and for 
everything, in fact, which is dear and sacred to one half of the confed- 
eracy. 

Without attempting adiscussion of the details of the different parties, 
I shall confine my remarks to the three principal ones, which are now 
seeking the confidence of the people and the control of the govern- 
ment — the Know-nothing, Black Republican, and Democratic parties. 
The Know-nothing party is of but recent origin. It came upon the 
country at the hour of midnight, and has concealed its purposes from 
public scrutiny and investigation. In its beginning it had, and, so far 
as weare informed, it nowhas, its signs, grips, pass-words, oaths, and all 
the paraphernalia of a secret organization. These cabalistic characters 
may be useful in institutions purely social and benevolent, but in politi- 
cal organizations they must ever wield an influence for evil. A repre- 
sentative cannot suffer himself to be trammelled by them. He chal- 
lenges the closest scrutiny into his political principles and conduct. 
In speaking of these parties, and the candidates under whose names 
they severally rally, I shall resort to facts and figures in the history^ 
the country. I have already remarked that the designs of 
jiow-nothings were at first kept hid from public view, but time d 
d that they sought to extend or repeal the naturalization 
exclude foreigners and Roman Catholics from office. Fri 
^hese topics are for thought and reflection, it is not my pur 
length, to discuss them. The following is the oath w 
sinistered to the initiates in many portions of Mississipp 



fou do solemnly and unreservedly swear, without hesitation, evasion, o 
bever to divulge any sign, password, or grip that you may receive, or e 
fposed, any paper or papers of this order that may come into your pos 




^^ rJ^ 



\. 



I ^ fr 



the name of any person you may see lirre; nnd, furihermore, thni you will never vote for any 
person l>ut native-born cititens to ill offices of honor, trust, or profit, to the exiluKinn of all 
aliens, foreiijiiers, nnd Roman Cathilics in p^iriicnjnr; and, 8li'iuld you prove untrustworthy, 
you will Milimit to have your nnme published in jill the nifforcni f ocif lies throuffhout the ceveral 
States in the Urionas one not worthy to be trusted, either in huiiiness or office: all this you 
«wear, in the presence of God and on the flig of your country " 

It will be observed tbat they were rctjuirotl to take tliis ol)lir(ation, 
under a terrible penalty to vote lor none bnt native-born citizens for 
all offices of bontir, trnst, or ])rofit, to tlie exclusion of i'orei^ners and 
Homan Catholics. In exclmliiij; foreigners anil Iloniin Catliolics from 
office, then, tliey are violating the spirit and genius of our institu- 
tions, and disregarding the most sacred guaranties of the constitution. 

But what has been the practical effect of tli is organization ujion the 
country during the short period of its existence? The following table 
will show that it elected to this House ninety members, eighty-four of 
whom voted for Mr. Banks for S|)eaker, and are now, with one or two 
exceptions, zealously co-operating with the Black Republican party ; 
and that all the governors and senators elected by it in the northern 
States are enlisted under the banner of Fremont and Dayton. 

Mr. VALK. The gentleman from Mississippi says that a certain 
number of individuals were elected to this House as Americans by the 
abolitionists. I wish to say, they Avere elected as Americans, by 
American votes, and expected to carry out American principles ; if, 
after getting h'^.re, they have repudiated those princijdes, the American 
party is not to blame for it. 

Mr. BARKSDALE. They were abolitionists before they joined the 
Know-nothing party ; and they have been true to their abolitionism, 
as the record they have made for themselves here clearly proves. Here 
are the tables : 



States. 


Bona-fide Know- 
nothinjjs sent 
from the North. 


Those who voted 
for Banks, if not 
all the time, at 
some one time. 




Maine 


3 
3 
1 

11 
2 
4 

17 
4 

18 

15 

6 

2 

3 

1 


3 
3 
1 

11 
2 
4 

13 
4 

11 

If) 

6 

2 

3 

1 




New Hampshire . 

Vermont 

Mass.ichiisctts ... 

Rhode Island 

Connecticut 

New York 

New Jersey 

Pennsylvania 

Ohio 


Entire delegation Know-nothing. 

Enciie delegation Know-nothing. 
Do. do. 
Do. do. 

All the Anti-Nebraskaites Know- 
nothings. 


Indiana .. 




Illinois . 




Michigan 

Iowa . 


AH the Anti-Nebraskaites Know 

nothings. 
All the Anti-Nebraskaites Know- 




DotbingB. 



Number of Know-nothings elected from the North 

Number of those who voted for Banks at some one time . 



90 



4 

No Northern Know-notliing voted for a national man on tlie 
ballot, which was the crisis. 

GOVEENOES. {All for Freviont and Dayton at this tinie. ) 

Maine ....Elected Anson P. Morrill, abolitionist, in place of A. K. 

Parris, National Democrat. 
New Hampshire lijlected Ralph Metcalfe, abolitionist, in place of N. B 

Baker, National Democrat. 

Massachusetts - Elected Henry G. Gardner, abolitionist. 

Ehode Island Elected William W. Hoppin, abulitionist. 

Connecticut Elected William T. Minor, abolitionist. 

Ohio Aided in electing Salmon P. Chase, abolitioniat, in place 

of William Medill, National Democrat. 

Iowa Aided in electing J. W. Grimes, abolitionist. 

Wisconsin Aided in electing C. Bashford, in place of Baratow, 

National Democrat. 
Michigan Aided in electing Kinsley S. Bingham, abolitionistj in 

place of Barry, National Democrat. 

Pennsylvania - Aided in electing James Pollock, abolitionist, in place of 

William Bigler, National Democrat. 

SENATOES ELECTED. {All for Fremont and Daylm at this Urns. ) 

Maine Aided in sending Wm. P. Fessenden, abolitionist, to suc- 
ceed James W. Bradbury, National Democrat. 

New Hampshire Sent John P. Hale and James Bell, abolitionists, to suc- 
ceed John S. Wells and Jared W. Williams, National 
Democrats 

MaasachasettB Sent Henry Wilson, abolitionist, to succeed Edward 

Everett, National Whig. 

Coanecticut Sent Lafayette G. Foster for the long term, and Francis 

Gillette for the short term, the former to succeed the 
latter, both abolitionists. 

New York Aided in re-electing William H. Seward, abolitionist. 

Ohio Aided in re-electing Benjamin F. Wade, abolitionist. 

Iowa Aided in sending James Harlan, abolitionist, in place of 

Augustus C. Dodge, National Democrat. 

Wisconsin Sent Charles Durkee, an abolitionist. 

Illinois Aided in sending Lyman Trumbull, abolitionist, in place 

oi James Shields, National Democrat. 

Sir, these statistics speak in a voice of solemn and eloquent 
warning to the South. The true men of the North, the men whose 
patriotism is broad enough to embrace the Union — the whole Union — 
who have heretofore stood in the front of the battle in upholding the 
Constitution, vindicating the laws and sustaining the rights of every 
section of the confederacy, have nearly all been remorselessly stricken 
down, and disorganizing, agitating Abolitionists are now filling their 
places. And, sir, in this House, how have they wielded their ill- 
gotten power ? The present Congress commenced under extraordinary 
circumstances, and extraordinary events have marked its history. N. 
P. Banks, of Massachusetts, who was the first upon this floor in the 
last Congress to avow himself a member of this secret Know-nothing 
organization, and the first to attempt its vindication, was elected 
Speaker after a nine weeks' struggle, by purely a sectional vote. 
Here is his avowal : 

" Mr. LETCHER. Now, let me try the gentleman from Massachusetts. Does he belong to 
the organization called Know-nolliing, that has been the subject of comment by the gentleman 
from Worth Carolina [Mr. Ruffin] to-night? 



\ 



5 

'' Mr. BANK^. I belong to an organizntion — not tlint f know that it ia called by the name of 
Know-nothin-^ — but that answers the description that i.-i generally understood l)y that name in 
my own town. Nobody has asked me the question before. I have never declined to answer 
-t, and nobody has 'ecrewed me up to it.' " 

The table above shows that ciL!:lity-fourof those who were elected as 
Know-nothings from the northern Htates voted for Mr. Banks for 
Speaker; and tlierecord ])roves that if u])on tlie last ballot the Know- 
nothing memhiTS of the llonse, Messrs. I^room, Bayaiu) Ci,auk,Cuixen, 
Henry Winter Davis, Millwood, and Whitney, wlio now follow the for- 
tunes of Mr. Fillmore, and who the day before had voted for Governor 
Aiken, had adhered to him, he would have been elected. Governor 
Aiken received one hundred votes, nineteen of the twenty-one northern 
Democrats voting for him; Mr. Banks one hundred and three. Four 
of the six gentlemen whose names I have mentioned could have de- 
feated the election of ]\Ir. Banks. These gentlemen had refused to 
vote for either Mr. Richardson or Mr. Okr, because they were the 
nominees of the Democratic party, but no such excuse could avail 
them for refusing to vote for Governor Aiken ; for though a Democrat, 
acting throughout the struggle with the Democratic members, he 
was, nevertheless, not their nominee. His name was suggested by 
the gentleman from Alabama, (Mr. Cobb,) I venture to say, ui)on his 
individual responsibility. Thus, sir, having, the power to elect a 
Speaker who had ever been loyal to the Union, and true to the Consti- 
tution^ these gentlemen of the Know-nothing party, which now 
claims to be national, refused to exercise it, and a Black Republican 
now presides over the deliberations of this House. They are respon- 
sible for his election, because they could have defeated it. 

In the organization of the committees, the South has been most 
signally ostracised. Every committee connected, directly or indi- 
rectly, with slavery, has been so constituted as to be made available 
in carrying out the nefarious schemes of the Black Republican party. 
The House has been organized according to sectional prejudices, by 
the Speaker, in the arbitrary exercise of his power of appointment. 

Messrs. Brooks and Keitt, of South Carolina, whose chivalrous 
bearing, and high order of talents and attainments, had secured 
them positions second to none upon this floor — the one for inflicting 
merited chastisement upon Charles Sumner, a Senator from Mas- 
sachusetts, who had published to the world an infamous libel upon 
his State, and slandered his venerable and absent relative ; and the 
other for not dishonoring himself by becoming an informer — have 
been forced to resign their seats ; and thus, not only has the insult to a 
sovereign State of tliis Union been endorsed, but the State disfran- 
chised, so far as this House has the power to do it. 

In violation of all law and precedent, when the returns of the elec- 
tion, certified to by the officers regularly appointed to supervise its 
conduct^ incontestably established his election — when he had been duly 
commissioned by the governor of the State, James C. Allen, of Illi- 
nois, a bold and fearless National Democrat, has been driven from his 
seat by the Black Republican majority on this floor. Sir_, in my judg- 



6 

ment, this act was perpetrated for no other than the accomplishment 
of a party purpose. There is already a vacancy in one district, and 
if the Black Republicans should succeed in that and in Allen's, 
and the Presidential election should be thrown into the House of Rep- 
resentatives, the State of Illinois would be secured for Fremont. Here 
is the motive which led to the consummation of this outrage ; to ac- 
complish which, the rules of evidence, all law and parliamentary 
precedent, have been recklessly and wantonly disregarded. 

A bill to admit Kansas into the Union as a State, under the Topeka 
constitution, a constitution formed by a mere party in the Territory, 
composed chiefly of plundering adventurous traitors, acting in open 
defiance of the laws of the Territory and the authority of the federal 
government, has been pas&ed by this House. Nine of the States of 
the Union were admitted by acts of Congress granting them permis- 
sion to form State constitutions — four upon the application of the Ter- 
ritorial legislatures ; and even in the case of California, as irregular as 
was her admission, her application was approved by the President, 
and understood to have had the sanction of a majority of the people 
who were then in the Territory. In the history of the country, there 
is no parallel to the outrage which has been perpetrated by the pas- 
sage of this Kansas bill. It stands alone, a monument to the infamy 
of those who passed it. 

The threat is now being boldly made, that the appropriation bills 
shall be defeated if Kansas is not admitted as a free State, or the Mis- 
souri restriction reinstated, and thus a revolution will be inaugurated 
by the majority in this House. Sir, I know that gentlemen on the 
other side have the power to defeat the appropriation bills, and let 
them do it if they dare. 

The Know-nothing party had swept over the whole North, bearing 
everything with the miglit of an avalanche before it ; but it had been 
met upon'the soil of the Old Dominion by the Democracy, under the 
lead of the gallant Wise, and had been routed and driven from the 
field. That noble old State was true to the teachings of civil and 
religious liberty of her immortal statesmen, and drove back the 
•minions of this, until then, " invisible invincible" organization. 

The elections were to take place in the southern States. Know- 
nothingism had accomplished its purposes at the North, as I have 
already endeavored to show ; and it was deemed necessary that a plat- 
form should be agreed upon, in order that the South should be fastened 
to its triumphal car. Under these circumstances, the grand council 
met in the city of Philadelphia. Its members were oath bound, and 
held their sessions with closed doors. It was composed of Southern 
slaveholders and rank Noi'thern abolitionists, and for days they 
wrangled upon the subject of slavery. Finally, however, they adopted 
the majority report, including the 12th section, when a majority of 
the Northern men bolted. It was adopted by a mere majority of the 
members, without regard to the vote in the electoral college. A ma- 
jority of the States did not vote for it, nor a majority of electoral 
votes, as the following; table exhibits: 



MHryland 

Virginia 

Nortli Carolina . 
South Caroliua . 

Georgia 

Florida 

Mississippi . 

Alabama 

Louisiana 

California 

Arkansas 

Tennessee 

Kentucky 

Texas 

New York , 

Ohio 

Indiana 



i! 



u 



15 

10 

8 

10 

3 

7 

9 

6 

4 

4 

1-2 

12 

4 

35 

23 

13 



Vote on mnjori- 
ty ri'port, in- 
cliKliiig l°-2th 
sec lion. 



\ea»- 



Nays, 



Micliigan 

Wisconsin 

MhIiic 

New Hampshire 

Massachusetts 

Connecticut 

Vermont 

Rhode Island 

New Jersey 

Pennsylvania 

Illinois 

Iowa 

Delaware : 

District of Columbia. 
Minnesota 



2—0 



8 

5 

13 

6 

5 

4 

7 

25 

11 

4 

3 



Vote on majori- 
ty roporl, in 
eluding 13tb 
seclioii. 



Nap. 



63 



62 



Florida, on that vote, entitled thouph to but 3 electoral votes, cast 4 votes; whilst New 
York only cast 6, and Pennsylvania only 7. Thus the little State of Florida exercised two- 
thirds as much influence in the vote on the 12th section as the State of New York, which is 
entitled to 35 electoral votes, or as the State of Pennsylvania, having 27 electora. votes. 
Delaware, like Florida, cast 4 votes— 1 more than her electoral vote, and of like proportion 
to that of New York and Pennsylvania as Florida. The District fif Columbia and the IVrri- 
tory of Minnesota, each having no electoral vote, cast one vote in determining that question, 
which was equally as much as the State of Michigan, having 6 electoral votes, or the State of 
Wisconsin, having 5. 

Vote on the minority report, including a resolution that the repeal of the Missouri compro- 
mise was an infraction of the plighted fuith of the nation, and that it should be restored; 
and if eflorts to that end should fail. Congress should refuse to admit any State tolerating 
slavery which, shall be formed out of any portion of the territory from which that institu- 
tion was excluded by that compromise. 



Delaware 

Maryland 

Virginia 

North Carolina 
South Carolina 

Georgia 

Florida 

Mississippi 

Alabama 

Louisiana 

California 

Arkansas 

Tennessee 

Kentucky 

Ohio 

Missouri 



Yeas. 



Nays. 



Michigan 

Wisconsin 

Texas 

Di^trict of Columbia 

Maine 

New Hampshire 

Massachusetts 

' Connecticut 

i Vermont • 

I Rhode Island 

I New York 

; New Jersey 

I Pennsylvania 

1 Illinois 

i Iowa 

I Minnesota 



Total. 



Yeas. 



Nays. 



84 



8» 

The States whose delegates voted aye, are as follows : Ohio, Mis- 
souri, Michigan, Wisconsin, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, 
Connecticut, Vermont, Khode Island, New Jersey, Illinois, Iowa — 13 
States ; and Territory of Minnesota — 14. The States whose delegates 
voted no, are as follows : Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Caro- 
lina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisi- 
ana, California, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas, New York, 
Pennsylvania — 17 States ; and the District of Columbia — 18. 

June 14. — When the convention reassembled on this day, 53 dele- 
gates seceded, as follows : From Ohio, 8 — all. Indiana, 6 — all. Il- 
linois, 4 — all, except one who does not appear after. Michigan, 2 — 
all. Massachusetts, 7 — all. New Hampshire, 3 — all. Vermont, 
5 — all. Maine, 7 — all. Iowa, 2 — all. Rhode Island, 3 — all. Con- 
necticut, 3 — all. Wisconsin, 3 — all. 

The above delegates assembled at the Grirard House, Philadelphia, 
immediately after their secession, and issued an address to the people 
of the United States, urging the unconditional restoration of the 
Missouri prohibition and the maintenance of its positive guaranty 
until its object had been consummated by the admission of Kansas and 
Nebraska as free States. 

In addition to the above, four delegates from Pennsylvania, consti- 
uting a majority of its representation in that convention, entered, 
with other delegates, their protest against the introduction of the ques- 
ion of slavery in its platform, and declared that they would not act 
with any organization that refused its sanction to the Missouri com- 
promise act of 1820. 

The platform adopted, as the above tables represent, was every- 
where condemned and scouted by the party at the North. At a con- 
ention held in Cincinnati, the following resolution was adopted, seven 
States being represented . 

"That the repeal of the Misfouri compromise was an infraction of the plighted faith of the 
nation, and that it should be restored ; and if efforts to that end should fail, Congreps should 
refuse to admit into the Union any State tolerating slavery which shall be lormed out of any 
portion of the Territory from which that institution was excluded by that compromise." 

And in the great State of New York, at their State convention, they 
dopted the following resolution : 

" Resolved, That the national administration, by its general course of official conduct, together 
with an attempt to destroy the repose, harmony, and fraternal relations of the country in the 
epeal of the Missouri compromise, and the encouragement of aggressions upon the govern- 
ment of the Territorial inhabitants of Kansas, deserve and should receive the united condetnna- 
tion of the American people, and that the institution of slavery should receive no extemsion 
from such repeal." 

The 12th section thus rejected by the North reads as follows : 

"The American party having arisen upon the ruins and in spite of the opposition of the 
Whig and Democratic parties, cannot be held responsible for the obnoxious acts or violated 
pledges of either. And the systematic agitation of the slavery question by these parties hav- 
ing elevated sectional hostility into a positive element of political power, and brought our- insti- 
tutions into peril, it has, therefore, become the imperative duty of the American party to in- 
terpose for the purpose of giving peace to the cotmtry and perpetuity to the Union And as ex- 
erience has shown it impossible to reconcile opinions so extreme as those which separate the 

putants, as there can be no dishonor in submitting to the laws, the national council deem it 
he best guarantee of common justice and of future peace to abide by and maintain the (xistin^ 

ics upon the subject of slavery aa a final and conclusive settlement of that subject, in spirit 

d substance. 

"And regarding it the highest duty to avow their opinions upon a subject so important, in 



9« 

distinct and unequivocal terms, it is hereby declared, as tiic sense of this nalional council, that 
Congress possesses no power under the constitution to legislate upon the subject of slavery in 
the States where it does or may exist, or exclude any Stale from admission into the Union be- 
cause its constitution does or does not rccojjnise the institution of slavery as n part of its social 
system. And, expressly pretermitting any expression of (>pinion upon ihe power of Coni^rcssf 
to establish or prohibit slavery in any 'IVirilorics, it is tiie opinion of the national cowncil that 
Congress ousjht not to leeislatc upon the suliject of slavery within the Territories of the United. 
States, and that any interference ny Congress with slavery as it exists in the District of Co- 
lumbia would be a violation of the spirit and intention of the compact by which the State of 
Maryland ceded the District to the United States, and a breach of the national faith." 

Such is the famoiLs 12th section ; that portion of their ])Latform 
which pertained to slavery, and on the adoi)tion of which, as I have 
ah'eady stated, most of the deh^gates from the northern States left the 
grand council. I am disposed to deal candidly and fairly with this 
platform, especially the 12th section. I did not regard it tlien, nor 
do I regard it now, as sound on tlie slavery question ; but it does con- 
tain some guaranties for the protection of the South. The Know- 
nothing party in the South at least was satisfied with it. The peojde 
were told that it was sounder upon the slavery question than either the 
Democratic or Whig platforms, and they were invoked to the support 
of the Know-nothing candidates because they stood upon solid and 
impregnable southern ground. Upon this jdatform they went before 
the people in the southern States, and, although in most of them the 
battle was fought Avith a zeal and desperation almost unexampled in 
political conflicts in this country, they were defeated most signally and 
triumphantly in all of them but two — Kentucky and Maryland. Wliat 
was then to be done, allied as they were with the Abolitionists at the 
North, and defeated at the South? The American Orgcm, published 
in this city, and recognized as the organ of the party, assumed the 
position that the slavery question must be ignored, and that differences 
of opinion in reference to it must be tolerated ; and that the party 
must unite on what were termed American principles. This propo- 
sition was soon re-echoed from certain quarters in the South. Sir, it 
was an invitation to those who had repudiated the 12th section and 
withdrew to reunite with tlie party. On the 18th of February, the 
second grand council met in the city of Philadelphia. In accordance 
with the position taken by the American Organ, Mr. Brewster, Abo- 
lition Know-nothing, of Massachusetts, moved to strike out the 12th 
section. It was resisted by the South, but at last the North pre- 
vailed and the 12th section was stricken out. 

Sir, let gentlemen attempt to disguise it as they will, the northern 
delegates were determined not to go into the Presidential election 
trammelled by the slavery question, and, in obedience to their stern 
and imperative demands, it was ignored by the platform. 
Pending its consideration, Mr. Sheets, of Indiana, said : 

" He was opposed to it, (the reconsideration,) asitvj-ould reopen the whole debate that 
the previous question was designed to cut off. He then proceeded to denounce the repeal of 
the ^Missouri Compromise, but disavowed extreme free-soil sentiments. He appealed to the 
South to act with magnanimity, and not attempt to justify a repeal of a solemn comproniise, 
and then say we desire no further agitation of the matter. It was like a man who should strike 
• yoa a blow, and then retiring say, ' I desire no further agitation of this matter.' [Applause.] 

" He would assure the South that the 12th section must be got rid of. He was willing to 
accept a compromise, but the section must be got rid of; he was willing to accept the Wash- 
ington platform, for, if there was anything in it, it was so covered up with veibiage that a 
President would be elected before the people would find out what it was all about. [Tumultu- 
ous laughter.] 
1* 



/ 



10 

" Three southern States had been carried on the 12th section ; repeal it, and we will give 
you the entire North [Applause.] He appealed lo the council to take off this trammel, that 
the great North and Norhv/estmay march to triumph. Do this, and place on the ticket a good 
Boulhern man, and most of the southern States will be carried with or without the 12ih sec- 
tion." 

The following is from the proceedings published at the time, as to 
striking out the 12th section, and adopting the new platform: 

National Council of Know-nothings at Philadelphia, Fehruary 20, 1855. 

•' Whereas the twelfth section of the national platform, adopted in June, 1855, was neither 
proposed by the South nor sanctioned by the North — therefore, be it 

" Resolved, That the aforesaid twelfth section be stricken out ; that on the subject of 
slavery we stand upon the principles and provisions of the constitution of the United States, 
yieldmg nothmg more and claimirg nothing less." , , n • 

Amidst much confusion and excitement, this proposition was carried by the following vote : 

Yeas.— New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, New Jer- 
sey, Pennsylvania, California, Arkansas, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa. 

A'ays.— Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina, Louisiana, CaUfornia, Arkansas, Tenneseee, 
Kentucky, Missouri, and^District of Columbia. 

Msent. — Delaware, Virginia, New Jersey, and Louisiana. 

Carried. — Yeas 109, nays 57. 

Before the vote on striking out the twelfth section was taken, Rev. F. S. Evans, of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, offered, as a substitute for the Philadelphia platform of 1855, the following, 
which was by some called the Washington platform, because it emanated from Washington, 
and by others the verbiage platform, because it contains such a preponderance of words over 
ideas : 

THE WASHINGTON PLATFORM. 

1. An humble acknowledgment to the Supreme Being who rules the universe for His pro- 
tecting care vouchsafed to our fathers in their successful revolutionary struggle, and hitherto 
manifested to us, their descendants, in the preservation of the liberties, the independence, and 
the union of these States. , • ■ i-. • 

2. The perpetuation of the federal Union, as the palladium of our civil and religious liberties, 
and the only sure bulwark of American independence. 

3. Americans must rule .'jmerica ; and to this end native-born citizens should be selected for 
all State, federal, and municipal offices, or government employment, in preference to naturalized 
citizens ; nevertheless, 

4. Persons born of American parents residing temporarily abroad should be entitled to all the 
rights of native-born citizens ; but , . , x 

5. No person should be selected for political station (whether of native or foreign birth) who 
recognises any allegiance or obligation of any description to any foreign prince, potentate, or 
power, or who refuses to recognfse the federal and State constitutions (each within its sphere) 
as paramount to all other laws as rules of political action. 

6. The unqualified recognition and maintenance of the reserved rights of the several States, 
and the cultivation of hamiony and fraternal good will between the citizens of the several States, 
and to this end non-inierference by Congress with questions appertaining solely to the individual 
St«tes, and nonintervention by each State with the affairs of any other State. 

7. The recognition of the right of the native-born and naturalized citizens of the United 
States, permanently residing in any Territory thereof, to frame their constitution and laws, and 
to regulate their domestic and social affairs in their own mode, subject only to the provisions of 
the federal constitution, with the right of admission into the Union whenever they have the 
requisite population for one representative in Congress : Provided, always, That none but those 
who are citizens of the United States, under the constitution and laws thereof, and who have a 
fixed residence in any such Territory, ought to participate in the formation of the constitution, 
or in the enactment of laws for said Territory or State. 

8. An enforcement of the principle that no State or Territory ought to admit others than 
native-born citizens to the right of suffrage, or of holding political office, unless such person 
shall have been naturalized according to the laws of the United States. 

9. A change in the laws of naturalization, making a continued residence of twenty-one years, 
of all not heretofore provided for, an indispensable requisite for citizenship hereafter, and ex- 
cluding all paupers and persons convicted of crime from landing upon our shores ; but no in- 
terference with the vested rights of foreigners. 

10. Opposition to any union between Church and State ; no interference with religious faith 
or worship, and no test oaths for office, except those indicated in the fifth section of this plat- 
form. 



11 



11. Free and thorough investigation into any find all alleged abuses of public functionaries, 
and a 3trict economy in public expenditures. 

J2. The maintenance and enforcement of all lawa until said laws shall be repealed, or shall 
be declared null and void by competent judicial authority. 

13. Op|)08ition to the reckless and unwise policy of the present administration in the general 
management of our nJiiioiml affairs, and more cfpcrially us shown in removing " Americans" 
(by designation) and conservatives m principle from otiice, and piacini; foreigners and uliraista 
in their places; as shown in a truckling subserviency to the stronijer, and an insolent and cow- 
ardly bravado towards the weaker powers ; as shown in reopenmg sectional ugiiation by the 
repeal of the Missouri compromise ; as shown in grunting to uima'uralized foreigners the 
rinht to sutfrage m Kansa.^and Nebraska; as shown in its vacillaiin:; course on the Kansas 
and Nebraska question ; as shown in ihe removal of Judge Bronson from the collectorship of 
New York Ufion fal.se and untenable grounds ; as shown in the cormiiiions which pervade some 
of the departments of the government ; as shown in disgracing meritorious naval officers through 
prejudice or caprice ; and as shown in the blundering mismanagement of our foreign relations. 

14. Therefore, to remedy existing evils, and prevent the disastrous consequences oiiierwise 
resulting therefrom, we would build up the "American party" upon the principles hereinbe- 
fore stated, eschev.-ing all sectional questions, and uniting upon tho-^e purely national, and 
admiiting into said party all American citizen.s (referred to in the 3d, iih.and 5th sections) who 
openly avo\y the principles and ojjinions heretofore ex])ressed, and who will sul)scribe their 
names to this platform : Provided, tiererthelens, That a majoriiy of those members present at 
any meeting of a local council where an applicant applies for nicniher.-hip in the AmericaQ 
party n;ay, for any reason by them deemed suflicient, ueny admission to such applicant. 

15. A free and open discussion of all political principles cmbiaccd in our platform. 

I When order was restored, the president announced the result as follows: 



States. 


Ayes. 


Noes. 


States. 


Ayes. 

1 


No0i. 


New Hampshire 


1 
5 


1 

8 
6 
2 
1 

3 
5 : 

"'u 

3 


California 


— .' 2 




Massachusetts 


Arkansas 


....1 1 


1 


Connecticut 


Tennessee 

Kentucky 

Ohio 


....| 10 
.... 8 


3 
5 

19 


Rhode Island 


2 
32 

4 

3 

1 

4 

13 
1 


New York 


Delaware 

Maryland 


Indiana 


.... 2 
3 


1 
I 


Virginia 


Michigan 


! 1 




North Carolina 




1 4 




Florida 




1 2 




New Jersey 


Illinois 

Iowa 

Total 


.'.!!' 2 


1 

1 


Pennsylvania 


Louisiana......... .... 




.... 108 


77 



Now, sir, what was the platform adopted in lieu of the one rejected ? 
The word slavery cannot be found in it. Instead of the 12th section, 
we have the Tth, as above. 

Mr, WHITNEY, (interrupting.) I ask the gentleman from Mis- 
sissippi if he considers the constitution of the United States as sound 
on the slavery question ? 

Mr. BARKSDALE. Certainly I do, sir. 

Mr. WHITNEY. Then I would ask the gentleman if he can find 
the word slavery in the constitution of the United States ? 

Mr, BARKSDALE. I find a synonymous term — "persons held 
to service ;" but there is no such language in your platform, or any- 
thing like it. Now, sir, mark the language of tliis section. Under 
it Congress can pass tlie Wilmot proviso, abolish slavery in the Dis- 
trict of Columbia, interdict the slave-trade between the States, modify 
or repeal the fugitive-slave law. It would be no violation of this section, 



12 

if Cono-ress were to refuse to admit Kansas into the Union, if she were to 
apply with a pro-slavery constitution. The" i^roviso is, that ^'none 
hut those who are citizens of the United States, under the constitution 
and laws thereof, and who have a fixed residence in any such Terri- 
tory, ought to participate in the formation of the constitution, or the 
enactment of laws for said Territory or State." By the bill organ- 
izino- Territorial governments for Kansas and Nebraska, unnatural- 
ized'^foreigners, who have declared their purpose to become citizens, 
are allowed to vote. Upon this pretext, the application of Kansas 
might be rejected. And, sir, in my opinion, this language was 
adopted to pander to the free-soil section of the party at the North. 

Mr. TRAFTON, (interrupting.) I desire to_ ask the gentleman 
from Mississippi one question. I understand him to say that Con- 
gress can do anything in regard to slavery. Does he mean to be un- 
derstood that Congress can legislate in reference to slavery in the old 
slaveholding States? 

Mr. BARKSDALB. The gentleman did not hear my remark, or 
he would not have asked me that question. I said no such thing. I 
was speaking of the powers yielded, tacitly, at least, to Congress, un- 
der the Know-nothing platform. I deny the power of Congress to 
legislate upon the subject of slavery anywhere, except to protect it. 
That is my position. 

Gentlemen tell us, however, that this platform is not binding upon 
them ; that the Grand Council had no right to strike out the 12th sec- 
tion, and adopt a new platform. By the constitution of the organi- 
zation, the National Grand Council wields its whole political power. 
In the express language of that constitution, it has the power to deter- 
mine all questions of national policy, and from its decision there is 
no appeal. And it not only has this power, but also has the power 
to punish for disobedience of its edicts. That the convention which 
nominated Mr. Fillmore for President regarded the action of the 
National Grand Council as binding, is evidenced by the fact that a 
resolution denying the powers they assumed was voted down by a 
majority of near two-thirds. 

The nominating convention assembled on the 22d February. The 
same scenes of disorder and violence which characterized the Grand 
Council, were re-enacted. The delegates from Pennsylvania, headed 
by Hon. John R. Edie, a member of this House, and who had voted 
for Mr, Banks for Speaker, were admitted to seats in the convention. 
The vote was 88 to 45 — two to one for the admission of these free-soil 
delegates, all of whom had repudiated the 12th section. At length, 
however, Millard Fillmore was nominated for President, and Andrew 
J. Donelson for Vice President of the United States, when many of 
the norther delagates withdrew. 

The political history of Mr. Fillmore is well known to the coun- 
try. He was first borne into political life by the anti-freemasonry 
excitement which prevailed in New York at that time. He was 
opposed to all secret societies then, even such as were not connected 
with politics. Now, he stands before the American people as the 
candidate of a secret, political organization, for the first office within 
their gift. 



13 

The following letter, addressed to a friend in Erie, in 1838, will 
show what his opinions, in relation to the power of Congress over 
slavery, were at that time : 

Buffalo, October 17, 1833. 

Sir: Your comtnunicntion of the 15lh instnnt, as cliairman of a commiltee ajipomtcd l^y 
•'the Anti-slavery Society of the County of Erie," has just come to hand. Y6u solicit my 
answer to the following interrogatories : 

1st. Do you believe that petitions to CongrcRs on the subject of slavery and the slave-trade 
ought to be received and respectfully considered by the representativcp, of the people.' 

^d. Are you opj^osed to the annexation of Texas, under any circumstances, as long as 
slavrs are held therein ? 

3d. Are you in favor of Congress exercising all the constitutional power it possesses to 
abolish the internal slave-trade between the States.' 

4th. Are you in favor of immediate legislation for the abolition of slavery in th« District of 
Columbia? 

1 am much engaged, and have no time to enter into an argument, or to explain at length my 
reasons for my opinion. I shall therefore content myself, for the present, by an.swcring ai.i. 
your interrogatories in the AFFiKMATivf, and to leave to some future occasion a more extended 
discussion on the subject. # 

ooooooooo 

MiLLARD FILLMORE. 
W. Mills, Esq. 

After the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, he 
yielded his position with regard to the power of Congress to interfere 
with the slave trade between the States. On tlie lltli of December, 
Mr. Atherton, of New Hampshire, offered his celebrated resolutions, 
defining, in unequivocal terms, the power of Congress over the institu- 
tion of slavery. I will not consume time in analyzing these resolu- 
tions and the votes upon them. Mr. Bynum, of North Carolina, in 
vindicating them, used the following language : " I pray every south- 
ern man to examine these resolutions ; read them over and over again, 
one by one, and say if they were not sufficiently strong to secure every 
southern interest_, while they particularly forbear to encroach on the 
rights of any other portion of the Union." These are the resolutions : 

Resolved, That this government is a government of limited powers, and that, by the consti- 
tution of the United State.^;, Congress has no jurisdiction whatever over the institution of slavery 
in the several States of the confederacy. 

Resolved, That petiiions for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia and the 
Territories of the United States, and against the removal of slaves from one State to another, 
are a part of a plan of operations set on foot to affect the instiiution of slavery in the several 
States, and thus indirectly to destroy that institution within their limits. 

Resolved, That Congress has no right to do that indirectly which it cannot do directly ; and 
that the agitation of the subject of slavery in the District of Columbia, or the Territories, as a 
means, and with the view, of disturbing or overthrowing that institution in the several States, 
is against the true spirit and meaning of the constitution, an infringement of the rights of the 
States affected, and a breach of the public faith upon which lliey entered into the confederacy. 

Resolved, That the constitution rests on the broad principle of equality among the members 
of this confederacy, and that Congress, in the exercise of its acknowledged powers, has no 
'ight to discriminate between the institutions of one portion of the Stales and another, with a 
view of abolishing the one and promoting the other. 

Resolved therefore, That all attempts on the part of Congress to abolish slavery in the Dis- 
trict of Columbia or the Territories, or to prohibit the removal of slaves from State to State, or 
to discriminate between the institutions of one portion of the confederacy and another, wrh the 
views aforesaid, are in violation of the constitution, destructive '.f the fundamental principle on 
which the Union of these States rests, and beyond the jurisdiction of Congress ; and that every 
petition, memorial, resolution, proposition, or paper, touching or relating in any way, or to any 
extent whatever, to slavery as aforesaid, or the abolition thereof, shill, on the presentation 
thereof, without any further action thereon, be laid upon the table, without being debated, 
printed, or referred. 

On these resolutions Mr. Fillmore voted side by side with such abo- 
litionists as John Quincy Adams, Giddings, and Slade. 



14 

On tlie loth of December, Mr. Wise asked leave to offer his resolu- 
lutions, which he declared embodied the sentiments of the South. 
Mr. Fillmore voted against a suspension of the rules, that they might 
be considered. The resolutions of Mr. Wise are : 

1. Resolved, That Congress has no power to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, or in 
the Territories of the United States; -ichether such power in the said District or Territories be exercised 
" as a vieans, or with the view, of disiurhing and overthrowing slavenj in the States " or not. 

2. ResoUed, That Congi-ess has no power to abolish the slave trade, or prohibit the removal 
of slaves between the States, or between the States and the District of Columbia or Territo- 
ries of the United States. 

3. Resolved, That Cona;i'ess cannot receive or consider petitions for the exercise of any pow- 
ers whatever over the subject of slavpry which Congress does not possess. 

4. Resolved, Ttiat the laws of Congress alone govern in prescribing and regulating; the mode 
and manner in wliich fugitive slaves shwll be apprehended, and their rights to freedom held in 
the non-slavehokiing States, District of Columbia and Territories ; and the mode and manner in 
which ibey shall be restored or delivered to their owners in the slave States. 

5. Resolved, That Congress has no power to impose upon any State the abolition of slavery 
in its«Jiiriits, as a condition of admi.ssion into this Union. 

6. Resolved, That the citizens of the slaveholding States of the Union have the constitutional 
right voluntarily to take their slaves to or through a non-slaveholding State, and to sojourn or 

.remain temporarily with such slaves in the same, and the slaves are not thereby ipso facto 
emancipated ; and the general government is constitutionally bound to protect the rights of 
slaveholding States ; and that laws of non-slaveholding Stales in conflict with the laws of Con- 
gress providing for such protection, are null and void. 

On the same day, Mr. Slade asked leave to submit the following 
resolution : 

Whereas there exists, and is carried on between the poets in the District of Columbia and 
other ports of the United States, and under the sanction of the laws thereof, a trade in human 
beings, whereby thousands of them are annually sold and transported from said District to distant 
parts of the country, in vessels belonging to citizens of the Un ited States ; and whereas such trade 
involves an outrageous viciation of human rights, is a disgrace to the country by v.'hose laws it 
is sanctioned, and calls for the immediate interposition of legislative authority for its suppression : 
therefore, to the end that all obstacles to the consideration of this sutiject may be removed, and 
a remedy for the evil speedily provided. 

Resolved, That so much of the fifth of the resolutions on the subject of slavery, passed by this 
House on the 1 1 th and 12th of the present month, as relates to the " rernoval of slaves from State 
to State," and prohibits the action of this House on " every petition, memorial, resolution, pro- 
position, or paper touching" the same, be, and hereby is rescinded. 

Mr. Fillmore voted with the abolitionists to suspend the rules, that 
they might be submitted. 

On the 31st December, 1839, first session 26th Congress, Mr. Coles 
moved a suspension of the rules for the purpose of offering the follow- 
ing resolution : 

Resolved, That every petition, memorial, resolution, proposition, or papers, touching or rela- 
ting in any way, or to any extent whatever, to the abolition of slavery in the States of this Union, 
or either of them, or in the District of Columbia, or in the Territories of the United States, or 
either of them, or the removal of slaves from one State to another, shall, on the presentation 
thereof, without any further action thereon, be laid upon the table without being debated, piinted 
or referred. 

Mr. Fillmore voted against suspending the rules. 

On the 7th of January, 1842, Mr. Giddings, of Ohio, presented a 
memorial from Ashtabula county, in his district, praying Congress to ' 
repeal the laws sanctioning the transportation of persons as slaves in 
any vessels of the United States, sailing coastwise from one State to 
another, and to pass laws establishing their freedom. The reception 
of the memorial was resisted by Mr. Wise, Mr. Wm. Cost Johnson, 
of Maryland, and Mr. Campbell, of South Carolina, who moved to 
lay the question of receiving the j)etition, which carried the petition 
with it, on the table ; Mr. Fillmore voting in the negative. 



15 

At that time Mr. Fillmore could have wielded an influence which 
might have been potent for good. Admitting all his iViends now 
claim for him, pandering then to sectionalism and aho.litionism, he 
aided in raising a storm which he afterwards could not control. When 
he was nominated for the vice-presidency it was not ])retended, even, 
that he was sound on the slavery (juestion, and he was supported by 
his party in the South merely because he was the nominee for the sec- 
ond oihce on the ticket with (leneral Taylor. 

Mr. Fillmore succeeded to the presidency at an extraordinary period 
in our history. The country was then rent with civil commotion and 
sectional strife, and if he had intended to conduct the government 
upon high national principles and "calm the troubled waters" he 
would have selected as his constitutional advisers men of enlarged 
patriotism and tested devotion to the constitution ; instead of doing 
so, all liis appointments in the North, and every member of his cabi- 
net taken from a northern State, had advocated the exclusion of 
slavery from ever}^ foot of our national domain. At the head of it 
was Mr. Webster, who, in a speech in the Senate on Mr. Clay's reso- 
lutions, avowed himself in favor of the Wilmot proviso, and de- 
clared that he was ready at any moment to vote for it, whenever it 
was necessary to exclude the South from our common territory. I 
call your attention to an extract, which I will read, from his speech : 

" For mvseir, I will say, that we hear much of the annexation of Canada ; and if there bo 
any man of the northern democracy, or any one of the northern Free-soil party, wha supposed 
it necessary to insert a Wilniot proviso on a Territorial government for New Mexico, that 
man will of course be of opinion that it will he necessary to protect the everlastins: snows of 
Canada from the foot of slavery by the overspreading wing of un act of Consres-s. Sir, when- 
ever there is a particle of god to be done — whenever there is a foot of land to be staid from 
becomi'io; slave territory, I am ready to assert the principle of ilie exclusion of slavery. I am 
pledged to it from the year 1837. I have been pledged to it again and again, and I will perform 
that pledge ; but 1 will not do a thin? unnecessarily that wounds the feelings of others, or that 
does disgrace my own understanding." 

Mr. Corwin, of Ohio, another member of his cabinet, at the very 
time that General Taylor and General Scott were triumphantly and 
gloriously bearing our flag against a foreign foe and upon a foreign 
soil, where the bones of many of our gallant soldiers are now bleach- 
ing, uttered in the Senate the following infamous sentiment, that if 
he were a Mexican, he would " meet them with bloody hands^ and 
welcome them to hospitable graves." 

But gentlemen tell us that by signing the compromise measures Mr. 
Fillmore entitled himself to the confidence and support of the South. 
Si^r, the South lost a s})lendid empire on the Pacific, and gained nothing 
by these compromise measures but the fugitive slave law, to which it is 
well known Mr. Fillmore was opposed, and was only induced to sign 
it after it had been pronounced constitutional by the Attorney Gene- 
ral, Mr. Crittenden. I have before me a copy of the "Republic," 
which was the organ of his administration, vindicating him from the 
assaults of a Massachusetts altolitionist for approving it, for the reason 
I have stated, to which I call the attention of the committee : 

"fugitive law. 
"While this bill was before the President fir his signature, the question arose in his mind, 
which is presented by the resolution of the Boston meeting to which we 1 ave referred, ' Did 
the bill take away the benefit of the habeas corpus?' If it did, the President would have 



been bound to return it to Congress with his objections. The President, consequently, referred 
the bill to the Attorney General for his opinion upon this point ; and an elaborate and able 
opinion was p;iven by that (^cer to the effect that ' there is nothing in the bill in question 
which conflicts with the Constitution, or suspends, or was intended to suspend, the privilege of 
the wnl oniabeas corpus.'' 

" We do not know the views of the President in regard to the propriety or expediency of this 
law. The political school to which he belongs has always adhered to the doctrine that questions 
of legislative propriety and expediency belong to the representatives of the States, and the re- 
presentatives of the people. It has been for years the staple of Whig complaint that the will 
of the i eople has been too often frustrated by a veto of the Executive ; and the only question 
that could be entertained by the President, in view of his well settled and well known convic- 
tions of Executive duty in this regard, was in respect to the constitutionality of the provisions 
of the bill. He entertained a doubt upon the point which he submitted to the Attorney General, 
and that doubt was removed by the very conclusive opinion of Mr Crittenden, to which we 
again refer our readers." 

The paramount issue in this canvass is the Kansas and Nebraska 
bill, and the principles upon which it is ba&ed. It has been made by 
both the Know-nothing and Black Kepublican platforms, and the 
Democracy have boldly accepted it. Here is the Know-nothing plat- 
form : 

" 1.3lh. Opposition to the reckless and unwise policy of the present administration in the 
general management of our national affairs, and more especially as shown in removing 'Amer- 
icans' (by designation) and conservatives in principle, from office, and placing foreigners and 
ultraists in their places ; as shown in a truckling subserviency to the stronger, and an insolent 
and cowardly bravado towards the weaker powers; as shown in re-opening sectional agitation 
by the repeal of the Missouri Compromise ; as shown fei granting to unnaturalized foreigners 
the right of suffrage in Kansas and Nebraska; as shown ni its vacillating counse on the Kan- 
sas and Nebraska question ; as shown in the corruptions which perva?le some of the depart- 
ments of the government; as shown in disgracing meritorious naval officers through prejudice 
or caprice ; and as shown in tiie blundering mismanagertient of our foreign relations." 

Mr. Fillmore, in his letter of acceptance, endorses this section, and 
has not hesitated to denounce the bill. In his Albany speech, he said: 

"When I left the Presidential chair, the whole nation was prosperous and contented, and 
our relations with all foreign nations were of the most amicable kind. The cloud that hung 
upon the horizon was dissipated; but where are we now? Alas! threatened at home with civil 
war, and from abroad with a rupture of our peaceful relations. I shall not seek to trace the 
cause of this change. These are facts, and it is for you to ponder upon them. Of the pres- 
ent administration I have nothing to say, and can appreciate the difficulties of administering 
this government ; and if the present executive and his supporters have, with good intention 
and honest hearts, made a mistake, I hope God may forgive them as I do. But if there be 
those who have brought these calamities upon the country for selfish or ambitious objects, it 
is your duty, fellow-citizens, to hold them to a strict responsibility. (Cheers.) The agitation 
which disturbed the peace of the country in 1850 was unavoidable. It was brought upon 
us by the acquisition of new territory, for the government of which it was necessary to pro- 
vide territorial administration. But it is for you to say whether the present agitation which 
distracts the country and threatens us with civil war has not been recklessly and wantonly 
produced by the adoption of a measure to aid in personal advancement, rather than in any 
public good." 

And at Eochester he was still more emphatic in his denunciation df 
the bill than at Albany. The following is an extract from his speech 
on that occasion : 

" Those measures, usually called the Compromise measures of 1850, were not in all respects 
what 1 could have desired, but they were the best that could be obtained after a protracted discus- 
sion that shook the Republic to us very foundation, and I felt bound to give them my official 
approval. Not only this, but perceiving there was a disposition to renew the agitation at the next 
session, I took the responsibility of declaring, in substance, in my annual message, that I regarded 
these measures as a ' final settlement of this question, and that the laws thus passed ought to 
be maintained, until time and experience should demonstrate the necessity of modification or 
repeal.' I then thought this exciting subject was at an end, and that there would be no farther 
occasion to introduce it into the legislation of Congress. Territorial governments had been 
provided for all the territory except that covered by the Missouri Compromise, and I had no 
suspicion that that waa to be disturbed. I have no hesitation in saying, what most of you 



17 

know already, that I waa DECIDEDLY OPPOSED to the disturbance of the Compromiae . 
Good faii.h, as well us the peace of tlie country, seemed to require that u compr >miMC which 
had stood for more than thirty years should not be wantonly disturbed. These were my aen- 
timenta then, fully and freely expresse I, verbally and in writing, to ail my friends, North and 
South, wlio solicited my opinion. Thisrt'peil secnia to have bren a Pandora's box, out of 
which hivo is -ued all the political evils that now i.lllictcd the country, scarcely leaving; a hope 
behind, and many, I perceive, are rca'ly to attribute all this to our southern brethren. Hut id 
this just? [No, no.] It mu-t be borne in mind that thia measure originated witli a northern 
Seiialor, and was sustained and .sanctioned by a northtirn President." * 

I pass over, for want of time, Mr. Fillmore's oppo.sition to tlie ac- 
qnisition of Cuba, his ])rocla!nation tlenounciug the f:;allaut CritteiitlcQ 
aud his men as robbers and phmdcrers, and permitting them to be 
shot down, without a trial, in violation of our soloinu treaty stipu- 
lations with Spain ; his arrest of my distinguished colleague General 
Quitman, when he was tlie chief magistrate of the sovereign State of 
Mississippi, upon an unfounded and frivolous charge; his pardon of 
Drayton and Sayres, convicted of kidnapping slaves out of this Dis- 
trict ; all of which indicate his fixed and determined hostility to the 
South. 

Sir, Mr. Fillmore's record proves that he believed petitions to 
Congress on the subject of slavery and the slave trade ought to be 
received and considered ; that he was opposed to the admis.sion^ of 
Texas as a slave State ; that he was in favor of immediate legislation 
for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia ; that Congress 
has the right to do that indirectly, which it cannot do directly ; that 
Congress has the ]>ower, and ought to excercise it, to exclude slave prop- 
erty from the Territories ; that he believed that slaves i)assing coastwise 
in vessels from one State to another ought to be made free ; that he 
pardoned convicted kidnappers ; that he was oppo.sed to the acquisi- 
tion of Cuba ; and that he signed the fugitive-slave law, not liecause 
it commanded the approbation of his judgment and he believed it to 
be right, but because his Attorney General had declared it constitu- 
tional ; and that he appointed Frec-soilers and Abolitionists to of- 
fice. Sir, I will not pursue this subject further. Mr. Fillmore stood 
with the enemies of the South during his whole public career, 
and when he is claimed by his southern friends as true to the South, 
his votes in Congress, antl his Executive acts, rise up as a cloud of 
witnesses to condemn him. 

But, sir, suppose Mr. Fillmore could be safely intrusted with the 
government in a crisis like this ; what prospect has he of an elec- 
tion ? In many of the northern States electoral tickets for_ him will 
not even be run, and the indications now are, that there is not the 
slightest probability of his succeeding in one of them. ^ In the South,^ 
his most sanguine 'friends claim for him Maryland, Kentucky, Ten- 
nessee, North Carolina, and Louisiana. If he should succeed in all 
of them, he would then have but 48 electoral votes, not enough 
by 101 to secure his election. But the election might possibly be 
thrown into the House of Representatives ; and are the people of the 
South prepared for the terrible .struggle that must then ensue? Are 
they prepared for the tempest which would then break upon the coun- 
try? Sir, a classification of the House will show that neither Mr. 
Fillmore nor Mr. Buchanan could be elected, and that there is a mere 
possibility of the defeat of Mr. Fremont. The contest, therefore, for 



m 

the decision of the people is properly between Buchanan and Fre- 
mont. Which does the South prefer ? * 

I propose now, Mr. Chairman, to consider for a moment the Black 
Eepuhlican party. To show its unhallowed purposes, I give helow its 
platform, together with extracts from the speecbes of some of its most, 
distinguished champions : 

" That we invite the affiliation and co-operation of men of all parlies, however differing from 
us in other rei?pects, in support of the principles herein declared ; and, believinsj that the spirit 
of our institutions, as well iis the consiitutinn of our country, guarantifs liberty of conscience 
and equJity of riichts am')ng cit zens, we oppose all le^^islation impairing their sc-curiiy. 

"This convention of delee:ates, assembled in pursuance of a call addresse) to th : people of 
the United States, without regard to past political differences or divisions, who nre opposed to 
the reppal of the Missouri ComproiTiise, to the policy of the present adrninistration, to the 
extension of slavery into free territoiy, in favor of the admission of Kansas as a free State, of 
restoring the action of the fedei-al government to the principles of Washington and Jefferson, 
and for the purpose of presenting candidates for the offices of President and Vice President, do 
resolve : 

"That the maintenance of the principles promulgated in the Declaration of Independence, 
and imb'tdied in the federal constitution, is essential to the preservation of our rppublican insti- 
tutions, and that the federal constitution, the rights of the States, and the Union of the States, 
mus' and shall be pr/ served. 

"That, wi'h our repuiilican father.^, we hold it to be a self-evident truth, that a'l men are 
endowed with the inalienible right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that the 
primary object and ulterior design of our federal government were to secure these rights to all 
persons within its exclusive juiisdiction. 

"That, as our republican fathers, when they hnd abolished slavery in all our nsifional terri- 
tory, ordained that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process 
of law, it becomes our duty to maintain this provision of the constitution against all attempts 
to violate it for the purpose of establis^hing slavery in the United States by positive legislation 
prohibiting its existence or extension therein. 

"That we deny the authority of Congress, of a Territorial legislature, of any indiviifnal or 
association of individuals, to give legal existence to slavery in any Territory of thft United 
States, while thrt present constitution shall be maintained. 

"Tha^ the constitution confers upon Congress s-'ver^ign power over the Territories of the 
United States for their government, and that in the exercise of this power, it is bofh th" right 
and the duty of Congress to prohibit in the Territories those twin relics of barbarism — 
polygamy and slavery. 

" That, while the constitution of the United States was ordained and established by the people 
'in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domesfc tranquillity, provide 
for the common defence, proaioie the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty,' and 
contains ampl- provision for the protection of the life, liberty, and property of every citizen, 
the dearest constitutional rights of the people of Kansas have been fraudulently and violently 
taken from them ; 

" Their Territory has been invaded by an armed force ; 

" Spurious and pretended It gislative, judicial, and executive officers have been set over them, 
by whose usurped authority, sustained by the military power of the government, tyrannical 
and imconstitutional laws have been enacted and enforced ; 

"The neht of the people to keep and bear arms has been infringed, test oaths of an extra- 
ordinary and entangling nature have been imposed as a condition of exercising the right of 
suffrage and holding office ; 

" Th- right of an accused person to a speedy ani public trial by an impartial jury has been 
denied ; 
* " 1 he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against 
unreasona'ile searches and seizures, has bpen violated 

"They have been deprived of life, liberty, and property, without due process of law ; 

"That the freedom of speech and of thf^ press has laeen abridged ; 

" The right to choose their representatives ha3 besn made of no effect ; 

" Murders, roliberies, and arsons have been instigated and encouraged, and the offenders 
have bei''n allowed to eo unpunished ; 

"That all these things have been done with the knowledge, sanction, and procurement of 
the present administration, an 1 that for this hi»h crime against the constitution, the Union, and 
humanity, we arraign that administration, the President, his advisers, agents, support .rs, apol- 
ogists, and accessari s, either before or afler the fact, before the country and bef)re th'" world; 
and (hat it is our fixed purpose to bring the actual perpetrators of these atrocious outrages, and 
their accomplices, to a sure and condign punishment hereafter : 

"That Kansas should be immediately ailmitted as a State of the Union, with her p'-esent free 
constitution, as at once the most effectual way of securing to her citizens the enjoyment of the 



19 

rights Dnd privileges to which they are entitled, an|^ of ending the civil atrife now raging in her 

territory : 

"That tlie highwayman's pirn, that might makes right, imbodied in the Ostcnd circular, 
was in everv rtsicct unworthy of American di)>l()m:i<y, and would bring shame and dishonor 
upon any gfivernnient or peoplf that ;;ave it their f-umtion : 

'' That a railn ad to tiie Pacific ocean, by the most ccriiral, practirable route, is imperatively 
demanded by the inte.rrsl'? of the whole conntry, and that the ftdt rnl governniftit ontrlit to 
render immediate and efficient aid in its cnn^lIrnclin|) , and, as an auxiliary tbireto, ta the im- 
mediate coustru- tion of an emigrant road on the line of the railnail : 

"That appropriatic-ns by Conprres f(>r ihe iniprovcnu m of nvfrs and harbors of a national 
character, rcquiud for the acconimoilatinn and eecuriy of on ixining commeicc aie ami orizfd 
by the corsti i.tion, and justified ly the obliiintion of govcrnmeni to protect tie lives and 
property ot ii» citizens." 

Mr. Giddings, of Ohio : 

" I look forward to the day when there shall be a servile insurrection in the South ; when 
the black tr:an armed with British bayonr tp, and led on by Briiifh officers, vhull as-irt his 
freedom, und v.of;ea war of extermination Uiainst h s mas'er ; when the torch of the inrcndi- 
airy shall light up the lowns and cities of the Si/Uih, and blot out the last vcstiiie iT slavery, 
And thouijh I moy not mock at their calnm'ty, and laugh when their fear cunieth, yet I will 
hail it as the dawn of a political millenium." 

Senator Wade, of Ohio : 

'♦ Thought there was but one issue befcre the people, and that w ac the question of American 
slavery. He ei-id the Whig party is not orrly dead, I ut slinks. ]i shows ngns occfsionally 
of convu'sive sj asms, as is sonietimes exhibited in the dead snake's tail, after the I.etd and 
body have Leen buried. ( 

"There is really no union now between the North and the South, and he believed no two 
nations up )n the earth cnterla'upd feelings of more bitter rancor towards each other than iheee 
two natioiid of the repub'ic. The only solvation of the Union, therefore, was to Le found in 
divesting it entirely from the taint of slavery." 

Senator Wilson, of Massachusetts : 

" Every'2;eneroufi impulse of the human lieartiswith us--evrry tiffVctirn of the human con- 
science is '.viih us ; the trreat hopes of the human rare Hre all with u.", iind we shall triiu- ph in 
the end ; Wf shall overthrow the slave power of the republic; weshuli enthrone freedom ; shall 
bbolish slavery in the Territories ; we slmll sever the national government (rom all responsi- 
bility for slavery, aiid all connexion with it; and then, sienllemen, then, when we linve put 
the nation, in the words of Mr. Van Biiren, openly, actually, and perpetually on the Hide of free- 
dom, we shall have s;l'"'rious allies in the South. We shad have men like Opssius .\1 . Clay. 
[Loud appl.uis ■.] We shall have ^enere.ii-^, brave, a;aliant men ri-'e lipmi ihe. S.niih, who will, 
in their OA'n tune, in their nwn wny, far tin inteiestnf the "'aster and bind -miii, l;iy the 
foundations of a policy of emancipation that shall give freedom to three and a half mil i^ns of 
men in America. [Enthusiastic applause.] I say, gentlemen, these are our objects and these 
are our purposes." 

In the convention which adopted the platform^ no southern State was 
legitimately represented. It was a gathering of the enemies of the 
South, of those who have no other inscription upon their banner than 
war upon the South and southern institutions. Sir, who is tlie candi- 
date this party for the Presidency? John C. Fremont ; who, we are 
told, is a soutlicrn man l)y birtli and education. He may liave been born 
and reared under a southern sky. I do not know, nor do I care, where 
he was born. But if he was, however, he is a traitor to the land of his 
birth and the home of his childhood. What claim has he upon the 
country? What experience has he in ])olitical aifairs, and wliat quali- 
fications for the high ])Osition he is seeking ? He is a senator who lias 
made no record, and a general wlio has fought no battle and achieved 
no victory. But, suppose ISlr. Fremont should be elected President of 
the United States ; what would be the first acts of liis administration? 
His cabinet would be selected from the North ; and if that would not 
be a violation of the letter, it would be of the spirit, of the constitution. 
His foreign ministers would be selected from tliat class of the northern 
people who would prejudice in foreign governments the institutions of 



aWW' ' ^^*<ll !! M B WM»iy . W «3&wg?«MI^.Bi^^ ^?^ . ; > :^v■Jy^ ,<; \> tt^ '^* f?^ r ^'tf»^ ' "»(«w^ ^ ■ ■ ■ 't «* " 



20 

the Soutli. All the officers of tl^ government would he selected from 
the northern States. 

Mr. STANTON, (interrupting.) I would like to ask the gentle- 
man^ upon what authority he asserts that Mr. Fremont would select 
his officers exclusively from the North? 

Mr. BAE.KSDALE. Because, sir, no southern man, in my opinion, 
would dishonor himself hy accepting office from him. [Great applause 
in the galleries.] 

Mr. STANTON. They have not been in the hahit of refusing 
office, so far as my observation and experience have gone. 

Mr. BARKSDALE. They have never been tendered office by a 
Black Republican administration, and never will be ; let the gentle- 
man from Ohio mark that, sir. 

Now, sir, as to the measures of this party, in the event of its success. 

First. Kansas will be hurried in the Union , u-ider the Topeka 
constitution, in violation of law and every principle of right and jus- 
tice ; next the Wilmot proviso will be adopted, and thus slavery 
put under the ban of the government ; it will be abolished in the 
District of Columbia ; the slave trade between the States interdicted ; 
slavery excluded from the dock-yards and arsenals, and everywhere 
else where the government has jurisdiction. These, sir, are the 
measures of the Black Republican party. They are not all included 
in the platform, I know; but should it succeed and the Union survives, 
the}'" will be fastened upon the country. Sir, I make no threats; but 
I tell the gentlemen on the other side of this House, plainly, as it is my 
solemn duty to do, as the representative of a hundred thousand free- 
men upon this floor, that we submit to no further aggressions upon us, 
"there is a point beyond which forbearance ceases to be a virtue," and 
that for the future ' ' we tread no steps backwards. ' ' We are done, gen- 
tlemen, with compromises. All that have been made you forced upon 
us ; and while we have observed them in good faith, you have shame- 
lessly disregarded and trampled them under foot. I hold up before you 
the constitution as it came from the hands of its immortal authors, 
northern and southern men — itself a compromise ; we claim our rights 
under that, and we intend to have them. 

But, Mr. Chairman, there is another party in this contest, and that 
is the Democratic party. It had its origin more than half a century 
ago, when the alien and sedition laws were passed, during the federal 
administration of John Adams ; and since that period, amid all the 
mutations of parties, it has ever been true to the rights and interests 
of every section of the confederacy. Its principles were promulgated 
by Mr. Jefferson, illustrated by Jackson and Polk, and are now making 
glorious the administration of our present enlightened and patriotic 
Chief Magistrate. It is now, and ever has been, a national party. 
When Texas applied for admission into the Union, fresh from her 
battle-fields, with her garments all stained with the blood of her sons, 
Mr. Fillmore and the northern Whigs turned their backs upon her; 
but the Democracy of the north and the south stretched forth their 
hands to welcome her, and she was added to the glorious sisterhood of 
American States. And, sir, how was the fugitive slave law passed? 
I point gentlemen to the record. In the Senate every northern Whig 



21 

voted against, and but three in the House voted for it. Here is the 

vote upon it: 

SBNATK. 

Nai/s. Yeas. 

Democrats 3 Democrats 18 

WhigB H Whigs 9 

Free-gQiler 1 — 

— 27 

12 12 

Majority 15 



Kai/s. 



ROUSE OK RKPRESE.tTATIVr.8. 



Yeas. 



Northern whigs 57 

Northern demoerata. 15 

Freeeoilers 4 



76 



Northern "lemocrats 26 

Southern ilemocrats 5R 

Southern whigs. 24 

Northern whigs 3 

109 
76 

Majority 33 

The vote upon the Nebraska bill shows that no northern Whig 
or Know-notiiing, in either house of Congress^ sustained it ; andtliat 
it was triumphantly passed by the aid of northern Democratic votes. 
There were in the 



Nayi. 

Northern whigs 4 

Southern whigs 2 

Northern deuiocnits 4 

Free-soilers 3 



13 



Yeas. 

Northern democrats 14 

Southern democrats 10 

Southern whigH 9 

Northern whigs None. 



33 

13 



Majority 20 



HOUSE OF KETRESENTATIVES. 



Nays. 



Northern democrats 40 

Northern wliigs 51 

Southern democrats 2 

Southern whigs 7 



Northern democrats 44 

Southern democrat^. 56 

Southern whigs 13 

Northern whigs None. 



100 



Majority. 



113 
100 
/ 

. 13 



Sir, if any other proof were necessary to establish the nationality 
of tlie Democratic party, I have it in abundance before me. Here are 
resolutions endorsing unequivocally the principles of the Kansas and 
Nebi^aska bill, and denouncing the agitation of the slavery question. 
The spirit which animated those wlio passed these patriotic resolu- 
tions pervades the whole northern Democracy. Here are the resolu- 
tions : 

IOWA. 

Resolved, That the Democratic party of Iowa will, in the language of the Baltimore platform 
of 1852, reeist all attempts at renewing, in Congress or out of ir, the agitation of the slavery 



22 

question, under whatever shape or color the attempt may he made ; and we do herehy declare 
in the most emphatic terms our disapprobation of the course pursued by the Aboliuonists and 
fusioiiisrs who have brought on sucli agitation by misrepresenting and misquoting the pro- 
visions of tlie Nebraska and Kansas act, and by the publication of false and libellous state- 
ments in regard to the action of Democrats, and who have prostituted the pulpit and the 
Sabbath for the advancement of their personal aims and the accomplishment of their selfish 
designs. 

OHIO. 

" 1. Rf.solved, That slavery is a domestic institution, and that Congress has neither the power 
to legiil ite it into any Territory or State, nor to exc ude it therefrom, but to leave tht! people 
thereof perfectiy free to form wnd regulate their domestic institutions in their own way, subject 
only to the consiitiition of the United States. 

" 2. Resolved, That the right of the people of each particular Stat'? and Territory to e-Uablish 
their own coiniitution or form of g;ov3rnment, to choose and regulate their own doaieetic insti- 
tutions of every kmd, and to legislate for themselves, is a fundaoiental principle of all free gov- 
ernment, and tliit it is the selfsame right to secure which our ancestors w iged the Wir of the 
Revolution — i right lying at tlie very founiation of all our free institutio i.-?, n-^cognised in 
the Declaration Q- Indsjsendence, and established by the constitution of the United States ; and 
we hereby endorse and reaffirm this now disputed principle. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

" Resolved, That in the repeal of the act known as the Missouri cotnpromise act, and the pas- 
sage of the act orgmizng the Terntori-s of Kansas and Nebraska, free from unconstitutional 
restrictions, the last C. ingress perfirme.ia work of patriotic sacrifice in raesiing the demands of 
seciionnl esciteToent by im^h;iken adherence to the fundamental law. 

" Resolved, That this legislation cannot be deemed unnecessary, but that it w'S expedient to 
meet the quesions of which it disposed, and v/hich could never admit of a more easy settle- 
ment than at present. That we recognise in it the application to the Territories of the United 
State.T of the ru'e of ' equal "and exact justice to all men,' of all sections of the cinfederacy, 
which was designed by the framers of our government, and which was defined as one of its 
essential princples by the immortal JefTerson. 

" Resolved, That the democracy of Pennsylvania, following the counsel of some of the wisest 
states ripn nf the North and South, were rea ty on more than one occasion in the past to ex- 
tend the iHiss )uri comoromise line to the Pacific, so as to make i' the basis of a final settle- 
ment of the qnettion of slavery in the Territories; but when this (jroposition was rejected, in 
184S, on the ground thit it involved an undue concession to the S )uth, by the very men who 
now clamor for a restorfilion of the Missouri line, there seemed to be but one wise alternative 
left, and that was to refer the whole question of slavery in the Territories to the people thereof, 
to be regulated as they may deem proper; and we. therefore, cheerfully extend our hearty 
sup ort to the policy of the government as recognised in the compromise measures of 1850, 
and embodied in the law? orsanizing the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska." 

And here, sir, are the resolutions adopted by the Democratic Na- 
tional Convention at Cincinnati, on the slavery question. In that 
convention every State in the Union was represented. It was com- 
posed of men of determined wills, and patriotic hearts, who felt the 
importance of the crisis, and were prepared to meet it. While each 
delegate had his preference as to men, there was no difference of 
opinion as to the question which so deeply and vitally affects the 
rights and the honor of the southern States. There were no majority 
or minority reports, but the resolutions met the unanimous approba- 
tion of the convention, and were adopted by a unanimous vote. 

" And ih U we may more distinctly meet the issue on which a sectional party, subsisting ex- 
clusivey on 'lavery agitation, now relies to the fidelity of the people. North and South, to the 
constituion an i the Union — 

'• I. Resolved, That claiming fellowship with, and dssiring the co-operation of, all who re- 
gard the prefervit'o 1 of the Union under the cot^titution as the paraaiounf issue — and repii- 
diating all sectional parties and p!atf>rms concerning; dotnestic slavery -vhich seek to embroil 
the S^afss and inciie to treason and armed resistance to law in the Territories, and whose 
avowed purpis:i=, if consummated, rnu ;t end in civil war and disunion — tht American democ- 
racy recognise and adopt the principles contained in the organic laws establishing the Territo- 
ries of K:\nsasand Nebraska as embodying the only sound and safe solution of the "slavery 
que.--tioi" upon which the great na ional idea of the people of this whole country can repose 
in its de'ermmed conservatism of the Union — non ikterference by Congress with slatert 
IN State and TEuanoRr or in the District op Columbia. 



23 

"2. That this was the basia of the compromises of 1950— confirmed by both the Democratic 
and Whig idrtics in national convcations, ratified l>v the people in the election of 1852, and 
rightly applie I to the orgimization of TernlorieH in 18r)4. 

<'3. Thrtt by tlie unifiuMi apphrfilion of this dcmocraiio principle to the organization of Ter- 
ritories and to the admission of new ytatea, wiih or without domestic slnvrry, as ihey may 
elect, the equal rijihts of all the States will be preserved intact ; the orij^inal coaipicta of the 
constit ition maintained inviolate ; and th« perpetuity and expansion of the Union injured to 
itsutini'st cap.iriiy of cnibruoini;, in pc.ict; ami hariimny, every future Ameiican State that may 
bo constituted or annexed with a republii-ao form of government. 

" E(solvcd, Tiiat we recoijnis'^ the nghi of the people of all the Territories, including Kansas 
and Nebrask.i, acung through the le^.illy and fairly expressed will of a majority of actual reii- 
dents, an 1, whenever the number of their inhnbiianfs juRlififa it, to f)rm a. coiirttiluiion, with 
or without dom. Stic slavery, and be admitted into the Union upon terms of perfect equality 
with the oth'-r States." 

Standing upon the platform, tlicn, in reference to the paramount 
issue involved in this election, the Democratic ])arty presents hefore the 
country James Buchanan, the patriot and statesman, of Pennsylva- 
nia, for President, and John C. Breckinridge, the hrilliant orator of ^ 
Kentucky, for Vice President of the United States. Mr. Buchanan 
came into puhlic life forty years ago, and had been distinguished alike 
in the national councils, in the cabinet, and as the representative of 
his government at foreign courts. He opposed the administration ot 
John Quincy Adams, and aided in defeating him and electing Gene- 
ral Jackson to the Presidency, and was appointed by him minister to 
Russia. On speaking of General Jackson on one occasion, he said : 

" I thant "keaven that in these days a military chieftain has arisen, whose name is fmiiliar 
to the lips of even the humblest citizen of this country, ^because his services live in their 
hearts, who will be able, by the sutlVag-s of the people, to wrest the power of thi* government 
from the hands of its present oppressors. * • « • I trust and believe that the people 
of the United States will elevate the citizen soldier to the supremo majesty of the Union." 

He has ever opposed, with the power of his great ability, the en- 
croachments of the Abolitionists upon the rights of the South. In 
1854, in the Senate, in opposing the petition of a society of " Fn^'^^^" 
for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, he said : 

"By granting the prayer of this raemoriHl, as I observed on a former occasion, yon would 
eetablish a magazine of gunpowder here, from which trains might be laid inti) the surrounding 
States, which would produce fearful explosions. In the very heart of the slaveholding States 
themselves you would erect an imprfgnable citadel, from whence the Abolitionists might 
securely spread over these States, by circulating their incendiary pamphlets and pictures, the 
seeds of disunion, insurrection, and servile war." 

On the 21st day of December, in discussing the President's message 
in reference to the transmission of abolition documents through the 
mails, Mr. Buchanan declared that he " was confident the gentleman 
(Mr. Leigh) spoke the language of every man north of the slave- 
holding States, that they deprecated and would do everything in their 
power to suppress any publication calculated to endanger the peace or 
to injure the feelings of the South." When Arkansas applied for ad- 
mission in the Union as a slave State, Mr. Buchanan warmly advo- 
cated her admission. He sustained Mr. Calhoun's resolutions with re- 
gard to the powers and duties of the federal government on the subject 
of slavery. He was the earnest advocate of the annexation of Texas, 
and, during the discussion of that subject in the Senate, he used the 
following language : " Whilst the annexation of Texas would afford 
that security to the southern and southwestern slave States which they 
have a right to demand, it would, in some respects, operate prejudi- 



24 

cially upon their immediate pecuniar; '-^-^-ost: but to the middle 
and western^ and more es2)ecially the 1 it^^'^^^ of r ~ ^^ would 

been at this day without that Territory:' xx.t, ^^7 897 3 (p le an- 
nexation of Texas with similar energy, although after lu ... been 
acquired, it is they who reap the chief pecuniary advantages from the 
acquisition." When the South was willing to settle the slavery 
question, in 1848, by extending the Missouri compromise line to the 
Pacific ocean, Mr. Buchanan advocated it ; but when that was re- 
jected by the North, and the compromise of 1850 was passed, he en- 
dorsed it, I give the following extracts from a letter written by Mr. 
Buchanan in November, 1850 : 

" 1st. Agitation in the North on the subject of southern slavery must be rebuked and put 
down by a strong and enlightened public opinion." 

"2d. The fugitive slave law must be enforced in its spirit.'' 

" And what is the character of this law .' It was passed to carry into execution a plain, clear, 
and mandatory provision of the Constitution, requiring that slaves who fly from services in one 
State to another shall be given up to their masters. The provision is so explicit that he who 
runs may read. No commentary can present it in a stronger light than the plain words of the 
Constitution." ' 

He is in favor of the acquisition of Cuba, and endorses the Kansas 
and Nebraska bill, and will carry it out in the event of his election. 

I have thus, Mr. Cha'irman, briefly and dispassionately endeavored 
to sketch a view of the approaching presidential contest — a contest, in 
my judgment, pregnant with the destinies of this Union. 

Sir, Mr. Freemont is the candidate of a party which has but one 

Eurpose, and seeks to brand with inequality filteen of the sovereign 
tates of this Union. Mr. Fillmore is the representative of an oath- 
bound organization which strikes in the dark, and wars upon civil 
and religious liberty. Mr. Buchanan stands before the world without 
a blemish upon the escutcheon of his social life ; and his long and 
illustrious political career shows that he is a statesman of enlarged ' 
and elevated principles, which, if carried out, will secure the rights of 
all, and promote the onward progress and permanent prosperity of the 
whole people of the Kepublic 1 will not pause to refute the stale 
slanders which his enemies and the enemies of the country have 
heaped upon him. They have been again and again refuted, and 
he enters upon the contest with the broad shield of his patriotism 
emblazoned, sans peur, sa7is reproclie. I, for one, am proud of the 
leader we have chosen ; and I have every confidence that the banner 
which he bears in this great conflict, upon which is inscribed in gilded 
capitals, State Eights, State Sovereignty, State Kemedies, and Civil and 
Religious Liberty, will proudly float in triumph. But if in this I am 
mistaken, if these eternal principles of representative liberty and human 
progress are to be repudiated, if that banner is to sink in defeat, with 
it the hopes of the country will go down forever. 



